


Something Worth Celebrating

by aisu_hawk



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic Fluff, First Kiss, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Steve Rogers-centric, Super Soldier Serum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:56:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24870421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aisu_hawk/pseuds/aisu_hawk
Summary: “I… we all care about you, Steve.” Tony’s even quieter now, hand sliding off of Steve’s shoulder and back to his own side - and Steve can feel the heat from where Tony’s hand was.“I care about you, too, Tony.” Steve manages to say - looking at the ground now - the anger and sadness replaced with the small idea that maybe Tony could actually care about him in the same way that Steve has cared about him for so long now. “Quite a bit, actually.”
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 15
Kudos: 119





	Something Worth Celebrating

Steve wakes to a knock on his door, and a glance at his phone tells him that it’s just after 7am. His one day this week to sleep in, ruined, by whoever was rapping their knuckles on the only barrier between him and the rest of the tower. 

He groans, rolling over, but the door opens and he mentally kicks himself for never locking it. He really should lock it. He knows he won’t - but the thought that he could is a comfort, at least. 

“What?” He asks, tone not as nasty as he wants it to be - since it could be anyone, and he hates the idea of actually snapping at Natasha or Tony if they came to him for something important. 

He feels someone sit on the edge of the bed, which narrows down who it would be considerably - and he feels the anger seep out of him slowly. 

“Natasha. You know this is my day to get my beauty sleep.” He says, voice muffled into the pillow. 

“Tony is working on something for you, and my orders are to get you out of the tower for the day.” She says, her voice dripping with mock disdain. She actually sounds… pleased. 

Steve feels his brow furrow - but he sits up - and sighs. “Are you taking orders from Tony now?” He asks, one corner of his mouth ticking up, despite himself. 

She hits his leg, quick and sharp - and he laughs. “Get up. Meet me outside in less than ten minutes, and before you ask - yes, I will have food for you.” She stands, and strides out silently - closing the door behind her. 

The idea of Tony ‘working on something for him’ makes his feet go slightly numb, as that could mean literally anything, but he gets up and is outside in exactly eight minutes and 45 seconds - spotting Natasha across the way on a bench with a foil package in her hand along with a cup of coffee. 

He makes his way across the street - looking both ways first - and she’s rolling her eyes at him as he gets to her. 

“You’re such a boy scout.” She says, flatly - offering him the coffee and square-shaped foil package. “Egg sandwich, you’re welcome. Follow me.” She doesn’t even wait for him to unwrap the food before starting to walk towards the subway. 

“Where are we even going?” Steve asks, before taking half the sandwich in a single bite - cheese perfectly melted and bread still warm.

“Shut up, and keep walking.” Is the only response he gets, and he does as he’s told. 

* * *

Natasha barely talks to him on the subway, and he wonders if he’s in trouble - his mind wandering constantly to what this ‘thing’ could be that Tony is working on - but he doesn’t dare ask. He knows better. 

He even manages to keep his mouth shut as they head to Brooklyn - already guessing where they’re going and smiling wide when they arrive in front of the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, Natasha stopping and turning to face him. She finally smiles, small but genuine, and bows at the entrance. “My work here is done.” She says - gesturing to the left of her, where Bruce is sitting at a small table reading the paper. 

“Hi Steve!” He says, folding the paper up and walking over to them. 

Steve laughs, and Natasha’s smile grows, but then she’s back to business. 

“You’re not joining us, then?” He asks her, hopeful. 

“What, am I not good enough on my own?” Bruce asks, clearly joking as Natasha shakes her head and waves behind her while she walks away. 

“Have fun, boys!” She calls over her shoulder, turning a corner and disappearing. 

* * *

The gardens are beautiful, and they have lunch at a cafe close-by, the question about Tony’s plans still on his lips but he knows even Bruce wouldn’t tell him. His best bet for information is Clint, which the whole team knows, so they’ve probably tied him up somewhere to keep the secret. To be honest, he’s almost getting excited about whatever this surprise is - but the small bit of worry is still there nonetheless. 

They head back to the tower, where Steve is escorted back to his floor by Natasha - who looks no different than she did hours ago, Steve doesn’t know how she does that - and told to shower and get ready for a “small gathering”. 

For the life of him, Steve has no idea what this could be about - but again - he does as he’s told. He wears a light blue button-up shirt that always makes Tony do a double-take, and a pair of jeans that Natasha forced him to buy because, as she had said, ‘reasons’. 

He assumes he’s not over-dressed, and he texts her to say he’s ready and asks if he’s allowed to come to the common floor. 

Her response is a gif from the Price is Right telling a contestant to ‘come on down’, which honestly makes him even more nervous than he was before. 

* * *

The elevator doors open and Steve is greeted by a cacophony of noise from the entire team and a few other guests yelling “surprise!” Initially, he’s mostly shocked by how loud they can all actually be when they put their minds to it. 

He’s smiling, cautiously - and Tony walks up to him from the middle of the group - all of the food and decorations just adding to his confusion. 

“Tony… what is all of this?” He asks, tone hesitant. 

“It’s a thank-you-for-volunteering party!” Tony says, looking positively ecstatic. 

Steve can feel one of his eyebrows raise as he glances around at everyone. “Sorry? I… I don’t understand.”

Tony rolls his eyes, and sighs - like Steve is the one being a pain right now. “It’s the anniversary of your super-soldiery-ness. I figured we would celebrate!”

Steve can feel his heart sink - but he keeps the smile on. “Oh, wow. Tony this is… this is great. Thank you.” He says, sounding like he’s hearing himself from twenty feet away. “You did all of this for me? You really didn’t have to…” He says, still with more confidence and happiness than he’s actually feeling. 

Tony seems to buy his reaction, since he puts an arm around Steve’s shoulders - as best he can anyway - and turns him towards the rest of the party. 

He’s had it catered, of course he has, and Steve knows he won’t be hungry enough to eat at this point - already wondering how long he has to stay at his own party before he can slip away. 

* * *

Having gotten pretty damn good at hiding his emotions, Steve wanders around the party and mingles with people like a pro. He’s thankful that people are using this as an excuse to just get drunk on good booze and eat good food, and not asking him about that day all of those years ago. He tries not to think too hard about it, and just have a good time. Tony had tried, after all. Not thinking about what this day really means to Steve, only about what it means to everyone else. 

A small, bitter side of Steve wants to tell Tony that this is like celebrating when he invented the Iron Man suit - with no one considering what he was going through while it was all happening. Celebrating the event but not thinking about the circumstances. Does Steve really want to sit here and think about what the world lost that day? Who he lost that day? The image of Erskine bleeding out on the floor comes to mind a few times during the night - but he does his best to push it to the side and just keep a smile on. Head up, Rogers. 

After about two hours, he can’t take it anymore. People are drunk anyway, he thinks he’s in the clear as he slips away from them down the hallway towards the elevators - but Natasha rounds the corner before he can ask JARVIS to call for his ride and he feels his jaw clench slightly as he stares at the closed doors that would lead to his freedom, and some peace and quiet.

“Gonna tell me what the problem is?” She asks, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms. 

He bites his bottom lip - clenching his jaw again - and takes a deep breath in and out through his nose. He’s suddenly so tired, and angry, he doesn’t even really want to get into it - but she doesn’t seem ready to let him go just yet. 

“Steve. Please.” She says, voice just on the side of sincere, and he hates himself for being mad about this - but he can’t help it. “Tony did all of this for you, he got us all involved, and you’re just going to leave?” She asks, tone turning slightly bitter near the end. 

“Yes.” He says, the word clipped as it leaves his lips. 

“Why?” She asks, just as Tony turns the corner and sees them. 

“What happened? I turned around and you were gone. Are you okay?” Tony asks, genuine concern in his voice, and that breaks Steve’s heart just a little bit. That Tony would do all of this for him and not have the forethought to consider that maybe he wouldn’t actually be capable of celebrating this. 

Natasha watches Steve’s face, reading him easily - and she turns on her heel and walks off. Leaving Tony and Steve alone in the hallway - the sound of the party distant now in the other room. 

“Steve?” Tony asks, taking a step forward. “Are you… mad?” He asks, brow furrowing - and Steve can’t help it - it all just hits the surface at once. 

“Did you even think? Did you even consider what this day is for me? How hard I’ve fought to not think about what it was like to watch someone who did so much for me - who changed my entire life - die right before my eyes?” He asks, anger coming through more than anything in his voice. “I figured you would understand that, not make a celebration out of a day that brings back such bad memories.” He pauses, and Tony’s eyes are wide - shock spread out across his features. 

“Steve, I… I didn’t mean… I’m sorry. ” 

Steve pauses, realizing that might be the most honest he has ever heard Tony be, and the anger just rushes out of him - the idea of hurting Tony making him nauseous. He wants to say more, but words are lost on him now that Tony is standing there looking like his heart is about to shatter. 

“I wanted to celebrate you, on a day that wasn’t your birthday - or a day like Veteran’s Day. Those days always seem to make you sad, and I wanted to make you feel… I don’t know. Forget it.” Tony says, looking at the floor now - seeming like he’s ready to bolt. 

“No, Tony. Wait.” Steve says, walking over to him - closing the distance between them a bit. He takes another deep breath, and swallows before he can talk again - but at least Tony doesn’t say anything, giving him a chance to get his words together. 

He heaves a sigh before looking Tony in the eyes, and licking his lips - realizing he hasn’t talked about this with anyone since it happened. 

“I know you may not want to hear this because it involves your father, but Tony this day - all those years ago - was one of the worst days of my life. You have to imagine how scared I was - they didn’t even know if I would survive, and there was a good chance that I wouldn’t.” He pauses, swallowing and bracing himself for the rest of what he wants to say. “What happened in that chamber was the worst pain I have ever felt in my entire life. At that point, I knew that I would either make it through or die trying. They tried to stop, but I lied and told them that I was okay. That I could do it. Honestly, I had no idea if I would make it. I knew that realistically I had nothing left to lose. Ma was gone, and… I wanted so badly to do something about what was going on in the war. It was the stupidest decision I have ever made - but I lived. I lived and the thing that everyone thought was impossible actually happened. It worked, and your father was one of the first people I saw when I came back out. He and Erskine were thrilled - it was the best day of their lives. Until...” 

He can feel his eyes starting to sting slightly - but he takes another breath and keeps going - even though Tony looks even more like he’s going to bolt - a deer in headlights. 

“It all… well, it went to shit.” He says, smiling despite the fact that he can feel tears in his eyes. “He died in my arms, Tony. I wanted so badly to tear that spy to shreds with my bare hands - and I knew that after the serum - I could. The power I felt in those moments was intoxicating. I had only been that mad a handful of times in my entire life. The emotional pain was on the same level as the physical pain I had endured only moments earlier. It took… months to get past that.” He pauses, then adds barely above a whisper, “... maybe I’m not past it, still.” 

He stands there for what must be almost a full minute, silent and trying to think straight - and Tony is silent, thankfully. He’s suddenly so tired. 

Eventually Tony takes a few steps forward, closing the distance between them even more now - and reaches over to put a hand on Steve’s shoulder.

“Steve. I realize you’ve probably never talked to anyone about this, or if you did it was a long-ass time ago. So let me explain.” His voice is quiet, and real, and Steve feels like he’s in one of those rare moments where he gets to see the real Tony. Not the one the cameras see, not even the one that the rest of the team sees - the one he gets glimpses of in the shop when he forgets that Steve is there. As much as Steve wants to walk away and be done with this conversation, he knows that he can’t leave now. Not when Tony is opening up to him like this. “You said your piece, now let me say mine.”

Steve nods, and sighs, focusing on his breathing and trying to hold onto the present moment. 

“If it weren’t for that day - the worst day of your life, it seems - I wouldn’t have met you.” Tony‘s jaw tightens, his words so sincere they make Steve look up and meet his gaze. 

“I am thankful every single day for you, Steve. This team would not even exist without you. I wanted to do something to celebrate that. To celebrate you… coming into my life.” He smiles, but Steve can tell it’s forced - hiding something - and for an instant there’s hope sparking deep inside of Steve that he hasn’t felt in a long time.

“I… we all care about you, Steve.” Tony’s even quieter now, hand sliding off of Steve’s shoulder and back to his own side - and Steve can feel the heat from where Tony’s hand was. 

“I care about you, too, Tony.” Steve manages to say - looking at the ground now - the anger and sadness replaced with the small idea that maybe Tony could actually care about him in the same way that Steve has cared about him for so long now. “Quite a bit, actually.”

Tony smiles, softly, and leans down to catch Steve’s eyes. “Oh yeah? I knew I was your favorite.” He winks, and Steve can feel his heart skip. “I bet you say that to all the guys who throw you parties on days that you hate.” The other man is smiling now, but Steve can hear Tony’s heart rate increase, and his own speeds up in response. 

Steve can barely think past the blood rushing in his ears, and before he can stop himself he’s closing the distance between them - one hand moving up to Tony’s jawline - pressing his lips to Tony’s with no hesitation. 

He pulls back once he realizes what he’s done - feeling his fight or flight response kicking in, but he’s frozen to the spot - locking eyes with Tony and trying to see what he could possibly be thinking at this moment. 

Tony is just as frozen, eyes wide and barely breathing. What feels like minutes pass, which must be only seconds, before Tony’s focus returns, and he swallows. “I’m sober. I didn’t… am I dreaming? I’m gonna be really upset if I’m dreaming.” 

It’s so far from what Steve was expecting, that he laughs - a harsh sound - sudden and rough. “You’re not dreaming, Tony - I prom-”

Tony moves forward - closing the space between them again - kissing Steve like he needs him to breathe, and all rational thought leaves Steve’s mind. Every one of his senses are filled with Tony - it’s almost unbearable. His other hand moves to Tony’s waist, then slides around to his back as he spins them a bit so Tony is pressed against the wall - a small sound escaping the other man that makes Steve’s knees weak. 

He’s kissing Tony. He’s kissing Tony. He smiles in the kiss - just as Tony’s tongue darts out of his mouth to tease along Steve’s bottom lip and he moans. He’s kissing Tony and moaning… in the middle of the hallway. Tony makes a sound in response from deep in his chest, and Steve can barely stay standing. 

He pulls back, both of them breathless - eyes still closed and resting his head against Tony’s, swallowing and wondering if he’s going to have an asthma attack. 

“Tony… we should…” He starts to say - but he doesn’t know where he wants to go. His room? Tony’s room? He can’t seem to make up his mind.

“My room.” Tony almost growls, and Steve is thankful that one of them is capable of making decisions at this moment. 

Steve laughs, really laughs - and soon Tony is laughing also, even as they stumble into the elevator, practically tripping over each other. 

The party was boring, anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> My first published fic! Thanks for reading, I really hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> This was written in response to a conversation on Discord involving @Evanna_Adams and @gotthesilver. I just got inspired and ended up here. 
> 
> Thanks to my life beta, my love, my Tony - @zerosconsort for encouraging me to actually post this one.


End file.
